5 Myths About Home Insurance

Ironically, Home Insurance is one of the most common types of insurance, but also one of the most miscalculated. Majority of property holders reckon that the schemes they purchased will indemnify them against virtually every loss/ destruction incurred to the building and everything in it. The truth is that any such scheme is bound to have some exclusions and limitations that will leave you with a sizable gap in riders.

Let’s crush some of the common myths about home insurance:

Unusable Coverage:

If your house is damaged beyond repair or is impossible to inhabit at the moment while it is being renovated, it is possible that your insurance provider will accommodate you in a hotel or service apartment temporarily. But this is not true for all house insurance plans and if you end up shelling out for all these expenses, you will soon be in huge financial trouble. Please go through the plan carefully and see to what extent the insurer will support you and for how long.

Expenses to restore/ replace/ renovate:

Many tend to take it as a given that expenditures to replace your lost or destroyed belongings in the house. For instance, you may think that your three year old washing machine damaged in fire or burgled, it will be replaced as per the coverage. But did you know that a bulk of insurance schemes do not have this option at all. If not incorporated, losses will be gauged at what the item was worth right before the accident. And evidently you will have to cut your losses and settle for the current depreciated value, which will be nowhere near the price for a new one.

About Flood Protection:

Practically every home insurance plan omit coverage against flood coverage, along with quakes and other natural catastrophes. This is unfortunate as it is one of the most common causes for deterioration of your house as well as ruining of contents. Floods can occur due to several reasons, such as a storm, ruptured pipes or drainage stoppage. Only a few firms include flood cover in their scheme. And if you are residing in a vulnerable region, it would be a good idea to go for a distinct flood plan or rider on additional premium.

Termites:

Any building with wood is susceptible to termite attack if not taken care of properly. And they are quite caustic and especially attack your house during cold weather. Termites feed on wood and more of it. They can eat away the wooden support in the house as easily as cows chew on grass. They multiply in huge colonies and can ruin the house structure together in time. Revamping termite destruction and getting rid of them can cost thousands of rupees and very few policies cover them. Hence it would be wise to have your house checked and squirted by an expert rather than relying on home insurance.

Assessment of Loss:

When you file for a home insurance claim, the insurance firm will send you an evaluator to decide the degree of the harm occurred and the ideal way to solve it. The evaluator will estimate a value based on usual factors like trending expenses and upper limit of what the company offers. But you do not have to accept the value offered by them if you feel that you are getting a raw deal. Keep your bills, receipts, photos of items etc. safe as they will come handy for further negotiation.

When it comes to insuring your most valuable asset, give no room for myths, misconceptions or vagueness. Reading the fine print may seem painstaking, but is better in the end as you know what you are signing up for. As mentioned above, not all risks and dangers can be covered and hence take regular maintenance of your house seriously.

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Customer Reviews

I live in Jammu , so my area falls in a earth quake zone hence I bought a home insurance policy from HDFC Ergo. The executive has approached me and they will give me a good services. I have purchased the policy around 2 years ago. I pay the premium through auto deduction and this policy covers for 3 years.

In HDFC bank, they have forced me to take the home insurance from HDFC Ergo when i availed the home also. My home is getting insured for the tenure period of 5 years. I am paying the premium amount of Rs. 500 on a monthly basis. They are giving me a coverage value which is equal to my loan amount. I pay the premium through ECS option.

When i took the home loan from Development Credit bank they have recommended me to take the home insurance from ICICI Lombard. When i had some issues, the customer care people are responding well. They have given the claim details and boucher to the customer. I have paid the premium amount of Rs. 40000 which covers for 5 years.

When i have taken the home loan from City union bank, they have provided me a home insurance from HDFC Ergo. I have paid the premium amount of Rs. 785 which covers for 1 year and i need to renew the policy till the home loan get over. They are giving me a coverage value of Rs. 20 lakhs. I have not claimed anything from this policy.

When i purchased my home loan from SBI, they have provided me a home insurance from SBI General Insurance. I have paid the premium amount of Rs. 5000 for the next 3 years and this policy only covers for the property. This like a EMI insurance. They gave me coverage according to the EMI amount. Once the home loan is over, the policy will get lapsed. They are not taking care of the customer in SBI.

I am not satisfied with ICICI Lombard for home insurance because the premium is very higher and the claim was not good. I will not recommend and would suggest to go with LIC housing. The premium is 1.30L for 7 years where LIC is charging 60k for 12 years.

I got a home insurance from HDFC ERGO recently and they have been charging be monthly 506rupees which is reasonable and the payment mode is ECS. They have provided me an insurance for 5 years. I have no issues with the service. I don't have claim experience.

When i taken the home loan, they have provided me a home insurance with Reliance. They have provided me a coverage value of Rs. 70 lakhs which is my loan amount. In one shot, i have paid the amount of Rs. 1 lakhs which covers for 15 years. It covers only for the house.

It was very fast and i didn't run for any kind of documentation part. Since i took the home loan from Bajaj Finance, they have provided me a home insurance policy with them. I'm not sure about the premium amount. This policy has a coverage of 100% including the hold things.

I have a home insurance with HDFC ERGO GENERAL INSURANCE where the premium paid was 2-3K where the duration of the policy is was 5years but i have canceled the policy within 1 month. The documents submitted was basic documents, but i am not satisfied with the policy.

When i taken my home loan, they have given me a home insurance along with the home loan. Since its a compulsory policy, i have purchased the loan. I'm not sure about the insured period. Overall, I'm satisfied with the policy. This policy is covered 100% for the home not for the products.

Its having higer coverage of 2L and the policy is valid for 25 years. Bajaj Allianz has charged me 25K yearly and the benefits are good. It was provided along with my home loan. They have provided me a good service. The documents has been provided to me on time.

While i have taken my home loan from HDFC,LTD they have asked me to take a house insurance policy. I pay the premium amount nominal which is applicable till my loan tenure period. It use to get auto debited from my account. They have given me a coverage upto Rs. 5 lakhs for 10 years .

While i have taken my home loan from HDFC, they have asked me to take a life insurance policy. I pay the premium amount of Rs. 50000 which is applicable till my loan tenure period. They are deducting the insurance premium amount from loan premium amount. They have given me a coverage upto Rs. 4 lakhs.

I got a home insurance from SBI General Insurance and they have charged 50K for the insurance which was little bit higher when compared to others. They have not sent the insurance paper yet. The policy is valid for 15 years. It covers fire accidents, natural calamities and everything.

I have taken Health Insurance through Royal Sundaram through Online .I am paying a premium of Rs. 15000 it is a 1year nee to renew each year ,I am paying through by online ,This insurance was referred by Citi Bank .I have not faced any issues so far on using this policy .There are cashless facility as well.

I have taken Health insurance policy since got call from ICICI Lombard hence taken the policy.This is a 1year policy need to renew the policy every year ,There is cashless facility on this policy ,premium is very nominal it is Rs.13000 paying through auto debit .I have got the policy documents on time ,Submitted documents also and not gone for any claim so far.

I got a Home insurance from HDFC ERGO while taking the home loan. The policy is valid for 5years and the premium is reasonable. They have charged me 69K and have received the soft copy of the insurance. The policy coverage is good and it includes natural calamities and fire accident.

HDFC Ergo home insurance policy is good and there is a coverage for five years, and I can renew it if I wish too. I also have the option to continue till the loan gets completed. The total amount is of 1.11 Lakhs. I need to pay 700rs on a monthly basis. I suggest that the charges should be on a lower side.

I paid premium of Rs.1.5 lakh to Bharti Axa for home insurance it has the tenure upto loan end peroid of 20 years. I believe its covers all natural calamities like earth quake, the premium is huge as compared to others. I got the policy paper through PNB Housing,